Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services

Youth ages 5 to 9 are invited to Reindeer Games, a three-day camp devoted to fun at Happy Hollow Park & Zoo. Children will make friends in this camp filled with interactive educational activities – such as discovering how animals use play to...

The City is seeking qualified applicants to provide and prepare meals for the unhoused in the Downtown area and develop a volunteer program. This Request for Proposal focuses on health and safety to reduce the risk of food borne illnesses, unsafe food pre...Read on...

Nearly 100 new trees will sprout at Guadalupe Oak Grove Park thanks to volunteer efforts. Following the parks Vegetation Management Plan, new oak and buckeye trees will help maintain the area as an oak woodland. In an ...

Community service is a key aspect of Echo Church. The Department of Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services' Volunteer Management Unit hosted more than 90 volunteers from Echo Church at Edenvale Gardens Regional Park on Saturday, Oct. 20. The...

On Saturday, Oct. 13, the Anti-Litter Program supported two large clean-up events. The South Bay Creeks Coalition and the Trash Punx collaborated for a large clean-up along parts of Coyote Creek; 551 volunteers picked up 9.5-tons of trash, that included s...

Two long-time therapeutic specialists, Donna Hepp and Gloria Teerman received Outstanding Community Service & Support awards at the San Andreas Regional Center 20th Anniversary Service Above Self Awards Dinner on October 20th. Also, Grace Ar...

The Department of Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services Project Hope – a program in the Mayor’s Gang Prevention Task Force – along with the Council District 2, hosted the s Project Hope Program Kick-Off & Resource F...

During the week of Sept. 10, Guadalupe Oak Grove park received a very natural clearing courtesy of 425 goats. Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services staff coordinated the goat grazing as part of the park’s Vegetation Management Pla...

More than 250 residents enjoyed an evening stroll at Kelley Park on Friday, Sept. 14 during the Department of Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services last Sunset Walk of the season. The theme was Fortune Cookie Day. Activities included a Happy Hollow ...

As Labor Day weekend approaches, millions of people will visit outdoor recreation
areas throughout the San Francisco Bay Area and California. In anticipation of the increased outdoor activities, CAL FIRE Santa Clara Unit fire officials are urging everyone...Read on...Read the full CalFire press release

Silver Leaf Park now has bright and colorful landscaping surrounding the park sign. The Silver Leaf Neighborhood Association was the recipient of a #BeautifySJ grant which energized neighbors to come together on Saturday, Aug. 25 to define, prep, plant an...Read on...

The Department of Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services is now accepting applications for the BeautifySJ grant program. The mission of the BeautifySJ grant program is to support residents’ efforts at reclaiming their public space and to em...

Due to poor air quality conditions associated with the Ferguson Fire in the Yosemite area, the Tuolumne Health Department issued a Health Advisory for residents and travelers in the areas affected by the wildfire smoke. As a result of this, the Department...

July was a busy month for the Department of Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services (PRNS) Volunteer Management Unit. PRNS received over 1100 hours of community service, which were donated at 22 volunteer events at City parks. The 400 volunteers were...

Camping at the Japanese Friendship Gardens at Kelley Park is a popular activity for San José residents. The inaugural Camping with the Koi sold out in just two hours. Sixteen youth and ten adults disconnected from technology, pitched tents in t...

Citywide Teen Program participants from Seven Trees, Mayfair, Bascom, Roosevelt, and Evergreen community centers connected to nature with a 3-day and 2-night stay at Family Camp at Yosemite from July 16-18. For many of the 25 teens this was a fi...

The Out of School Time team partnered with the San José Sharks to bring the Mobile Shark Tank to the Bascom Community Center! On Tuesday, July 3, the Bascom gym was transformed into a mini Shark Tank, where approximately 100 Camp San Jos&ea...

San José teens recently celebrated the second annual Great Cardboard Boat Races event at Mayfair Community Center on June 29th. Nine community centers, ten outside organizations and a total of 97 youths attend The Great Cardboard Boat ...

Summer is here and the Department of Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services’ Berryessa Community Center kicked it off with partners, the San Jose Earthquakes and Councilmember Lan Diep, during the June 8 Neighbor Nights event. San Jos&...Read on...

The Japanese Friendship Garden received a donation of two water filtration systems, valued at $15,184, from the San Jose Parks Foundation. During the 2017 floods, the koi pond, its pump, pump room and equipment sustained heavy damage. One hundred and ten ...Read on...

On May 19, a new lighted full-size soccer field, with two overlapping youth soccer fields, opened as part of the Phase II plans for Del Monte Park - a much needed addition to the City’s sports field inventory. To reserve the Del Monte soccer fields, visit...Read on...

From March to May 2018, 240 volunteers donated 600 hours of service, a value of $17K to the Department of Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services. The volunteers picked up litter, trimmed trees, cleaned playground equipment and more. The Volunteer Man...Read on...

Over 90 new and returning campers kicked off the camping year with a Fish Camp on April 27 at Family Camp at Yosemite. The Department of Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services’ camp is celebrating 50 years of affordable fun and nature. Fish Camp is a...Read on...

On May 21, the Department of Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services (PRNS) saw its vacancy rate drop below 10 percent, a significant milestone given that the vacancy rate was at 20 percent just nine months ago. The impressive decline illustrates the ...Read on...

The Department of Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services’ 2017 Community Impact Report is available online. This annual report details the community benefits of parks, trails, community centers and programs. Highlights include: 223,000 nutritious mea...Read on...

Biebrach Park’s neighbors united to become official Adopt-A-Park volunteers five months ago. The volunteers meet once a month for two hours on a Saturday to enhance the park by picking up litter and assisting in landscaping tasks. The Department...

Poetry, culture and nature were celebrated during the 26th Annual Spring Haiku in the Park at the Japanese Friendship Garden in Kelley Park on May 12. Through a collaboration of the Department of Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services’ Kell...

To help launch the Happy Hollow Park & Zoo "Spring into Reading" initiative, the Library’s Early Education Team has provided upwards of 800 picture books, board books and beginning reader titles about animals in English and Spanish...

The Department of Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services has a grant funding opportunity for a qualified agency to serve as the lead operator of the Spartan Keyes Neighborhood Action Center. The selected agency will provide afterschool programming an...

The black-and-white ruffed lemur pup born on April 6 at Happy Hollow Park & Zoo (HHPZ) has a name – ‘Loka’. The Department of Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services’ HHPZ zookeepers proposed three names &am...

The Department of Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services’ Volunteer Management Unit hosted over 175 volunteers for the first Community Volunteer Day at the Municipal Rose Garden on May 5. Volunteers spent three hours on basic landscaping ta...

To help build the Department of Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services (PRNS) forward and standardize the knowledge, skills, and abilities of groundsworkers and maintenance assistants, 100 recently hired and veteran employees participated in an all-d...

A student ‘engineering’ team of 4th and 5th graders from the Department of Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services’ Baldwin R.O.C.K. Afterschool Program competed in the 31st Annual Tech Challenge on April 28. The...

More than 700 Department of Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services volunteers were honored at the Annual Volunteer Appreciation event held at Happy Hollow Park & Zoo (HHPZ) on April 26. The celebration included Adopt-A-Park, Anti-Litter...

The Department of Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services is seeking organizations who can provide recreational, educational and leisure activities at community centers or parks for all ages and abilities, from the very young to seniors. A pre-proposa...

San Jose Earthquakes and the Department of Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services (PRNS) kicked off a new partnership with a donation of $1,000 worth of sports equipment. To celebrate this partnership, a rally was held at Mayfair Community Center on ...

More than a thousand community members celebrated Earth Day at the first annual Alum Rock Park Earth Day Celebration on April 22. To kick off the event, hosted by the Department of Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services’ Alum Rock Park Rang...

San José Kiwanis Club members, including high school students from various “Key Clubs,” volunteered at three different City parks on April 21. The Department of Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services’ Voluntee...

A male lemur pup was born at Happy Hollow Park & Zoo (HHPZ) on April 6, adding a curious youngster into the lemur community. The Department of Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services’ HHPZ is dedicated to the conservation of the critical...

The Department of Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services’ Volunteer Management Unit hosted a corporate volunteer event at the Municipal Rose Garden on April 13. RJRT sales managers dedicated their time to the sole duty of pulling weeds. The...

The Department of Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services’ Volunteer Management Unit and Anti-Litter Program were featured in the latest issue of the Bay Area Parent. More than 550 teens volunteer in the Anti-Litter Program a year. Teens can...

The Department of Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services’ Recreation Preschool (SJRP) provides children (3-to-4 3/4-year-olds) and their families with educational and recreational experiences that support their imaginative, physical, cognit...

The Department of Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services’ Happy Hollow Park & Zoo (HHPZ) was abuzz on April 11 with the #BeeKind event to celebrate a new apiary - home to nearly two million bees. The original apiary was destroyed by the...

The Department of Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services’ Volunteer Management Unit hosted the first volunteer work day at Guadalupe Oak Grove Park on April 7. During this first event, volunteers identified and marked hundreds of baby blue ...

The Department of Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services’ Youth Commission welcomed the Homestead Florida Mayor's Youth Advisory Council (HMYAC) to San José on March 28. The youth commissioners provided a tour of City Hall. The H...

The Department of Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services’ Three Creeks Trail received an honorable mention at the 33rd Annual California Trails and Greenways Conference in Rohnert Park on March 27 to 29. Three Creeks Trail is a 0.9-mile tra...

The Department of Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services’ Alum Rock Park Rangers are building the next generation of park and nature stewards. On March 26, 170 third and sixth graders at Cedar Grove Elementary School learned about the range...Read on...

The Department of Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services in collaboration with Councilmember Sylvia Arenas will host the grand opening of San José’s new bike park at Lake Cunningham Action Sports Park on Saturday, April 14 at 10:...Read on...

The Department of Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services’ Community Gardens Program invites community members to rent a garden plot. Currently, over 900 community gardeners participate in the program. Plots are available at: Cornucopia, Dis...

The Department of Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services’ Anti-Litter Program hosted four litter clean-ups on March 16 and 17 with community partners Project Access at the Valley Palms Apartments, Cadillac/Winchester Neighborhood Associatio...Read on...

Through the combined efforts of theDepartments of Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services and Public Works reconstruction of the Watson Park soccer fields will begin in late spring. This reconstruction is the first of 26 projects t...Read on...

The Department of Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services’ Mayfair Community Center recognized and honored 100 volunteers at their Volunteer Recognition Event on February 15. The volunteers were treated to a night of dinner and dancing, than...Read on...

The Willow Glen Children’s Theatre has been shaping local youth for 30 years. To celebrate this milestone, a Gala was held on February 3, at Vin Santo Ristorante in downtown Willow Glen. This program was started by Gavin Coffing, a long-time emp...Read on...

PRNS invites you to the first San José Neighbor Nights at your community center. The event will take place every second Friday of the month.
#SJNeighborNights will offer free activities at 11 community centers, including music, movies, crafts...Read on...Additional Info...

The Department of Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services (PRNS) Volunteer Management Unit provided tools, supplies, and assistance to a new group of Adopt-A-Park Volunteers. The group of neighbors will gather on the first Saturday of the month for a ...Read on...

The Department of Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services (PRNS) San José Trails program and Almaden Lake Park opened a new trail under-crossing on Coleman Road on Dec. 2. Councilmember Johnny Khamis, community leaders and 70 community memb...Read on...

There is a vibrant energy at the Department of Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services (PRNS) Mayfair Community Center and it is from the many campers who are reading, playing, and having fun. Our Camp San Jose and FIT Camp summer programs have begun ...Read on...

Last weekend, hundreds of yellow-vested volunteers showed up at Kelley Park to assist in clean-up efforts from the winter floods. There were individuals, community organizations, and families – all with smiles and all with the common go...Read on...

With more than 4,500 nationwide Knight Cities Challenge (KCC) submissions, the Department of Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services (PRNS) Young Placemakers program has been selected as one of 12 entries from San José to join the...Read on...

Planning on visiting a City of San Jose regional park this spring? Exploring a trail or booking a picnic area? Download or visit a park to get one of our newly designed regional park brochures. These highlight the unique features and landscapes of each pa...Read on...

- On December 19, a half dozen park rangers braved the cold to complete their Bicycle Patrol Training at Alum Rock Park. Bicycles are one of a variety of transportation devices park rangers use to patrol parks and trails throughout the City. Rangers have ...Read on...

The City of San Joséis committed to open and honest government and strives to consistently meet the community’s expectations by providing excellent service, in a positive and timely manner, and in the full view of the public.